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ICRW - International Center for Research on Women

http://www.icrw.org/innovation/index.html

Direct Link to Full 20-Page Document:

http://www.icrw.org/docs/2009/Innovation-for-Womens-Empowerment.pdf

Innovation for Women ’s Empowerment and Gender Equality

In a new, groundbreaking study, ICRW examines how cutting-edge innovations can transform women’s lives.

Read the brief.

The Power to Empower: Innovation to Transform Women’s Lives 

In a new, groundbreaking study, International Center for Research on Women examines how cutting-edge innovations can transform women’s lives. The ICRW report analyzes how a variety of innovations that used technology, changed social norms and strengthened economic vitality helped women.

Researchers identified seven core approaches – or levers – needed for any innovation to create meaningful change for women.

They include:

· Creating strategic partnerships among governments, the private sector and civil society.

· Including women in the design and implementation of innovative ideas.

· Having committed support from governments as well as efforts at the grassroots level.

ICRW’s findings come at a critical moment.

Social, political and economic shifts globally are creating a perfect storm for innovations to benefit and potentially empower women. Take foot-pedaled water pumps. In sub-Saharan Africa, women in rural communities traditionally are responsible for collecting water to irrigate the crops that feed their families and that sell in markets. It can be a time- and labor-consuming effort.

But the invention in recent years of a low-cost irrigation pump operated by a foot pedal has changed that reality for many. In building the pump, designers sought feedback from women and later reached out to the private sector to help produce and sell the technology. Today, the pump – which can reach as deep as 25 feet to water up to two acres of land – is helping thousands of rural farmers, including women, expand the size of farms they cultivate, diversify their crops, improve their families’ food supplies and ultimately, earn more income.

ICRW knows how creative ideas – such as the foot-pedaled water pump – intersect with women’s economic, social and personal development. Others are taking notice, too: Now more than ever, a growing number of businesses and governments recognize that when they invest in women, families are healthier, communities thrive and economies grow.

But there are other, fundamentally deeper benefits. Including women in innovative opportunities can help dramatically shift persistent inequalities between them and their male counterparts. It also arms women with the ability to recognize new opportunities and the confidence to dive into them.

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